China's government has held talks with major technology companies about limiting overseas access to the country’s top AI models, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

Models that have not yet been made public were also included.

The sources said people from Alibaba, ByteDance and startup Z.ai attended the meeting.

Since DeepSeek unveiled its R1 model last year, Chinese AI models have rapidly moved into overseas markets by emphasizing price-performance, Reuters reported. If a decision to restrict access is made, many companies could face higher costs, with ripple effects across the broader AI market, it added.

At a meeting led by the Ministry of Commerce, participants discussed placing restrictions on top-tier AI models regardless of whether they are closed or open source. One of the sources said they also raised treating the leaking or theft of proprietary AI technology as a violation of national security law. They also discussed limiting who can fund domestic AI startups.

Two sources said the scope of any restrictions is still being discussed and may apply only to models to be launched in the future. Reuters reported that both whether the measures will be implemented and when remain unclear.